


Stay

by delawana



Series: Time to be Storytellers Weekly Prompts [5]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 09:47:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21372130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delawana/pseuds/delawana
Summary: For once, the Inquisitor has more work to do than Cullen does. Keeping her company long into the night, he decides whether or not to return to his lonely tower across the battlements in the cold.
Relationships: Female Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford, Female Lavellan/Cullen Rutherford
Series: Time to be Storytellers Weekly Prompts [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1518038
Comments: 2
Kudos: 51





	Stay

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the [Reddit Weekly Prompt](https://www.reddit.com/r/dragonage/comments/dtx6pl/spoilers_alloctime_to_be_storytellers_the_dragon/f705gba/) "A quiet moment, relaxing, a kiss on the cheek, unexpected softness, a laugh" as part of the love interest POV theme.

The fur of Cullen’s mantle tickled his nose. There was a draft coming in through the windows of the inquisitor’s quarters. There was always a draft somewhere. It didn’t seem so bad in the daytime, it was almost refreshing then, but at two o’clock in the morning it was intolerable. Still, it was warmer in here than in his own tower - he was dreading the cold walk back across the battlements - and improved significantly over it by the Inquisitor’s presence.

Raynda was at her desk, her head propped up on her hand, blinking hard. Each blink seemed just a little bit longer than the last and her head was dropping lower by stages. Finally it slipped from her hand and she sat up with a start, then leaned back in her chair and shook her head in an attempt to clear it. She ran her hands over her face in exhaustion, leaving a smeared black streak of ink behind. “I am so fucking tired right now,” she said with a sigh. “I’ve been up since five, trained until my fingers ached, had to deal with diplomats all day, and now I have to make up for the time I lost with them to finish up these reports before tomorrow.”

Getting up from his spot on the loveseat where he had been reading to keep her company, Cullen stood behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “And you’re cold and hungry and there are wolves after you?” he asked teasingly, leaning down closer to her and wiping the ink from her cheek.

“Big ones, with sharp, pointy teeth.” She looked up at him, her expression falsely mournful with a slight pout on her lips. Her hair had fallen out of its ponytail and wisps of it surrounded her face, shining redder in the firelight. Maker, everything about her begged him to kiss her. Being able to do so whenever he wanted and knowing that she wouldn’t pull away was such a newly discovered joy.

“I have historically found that a cup of tea can help to keep the wolves at bay. Shall I get you some?”

“You would have my undying thanks,” she said with a tired smile. “I’m at a good stopping point to take a break anyway.”

He took her hand as she got out of her chair and used it to pull her gently toward him. Taking her face in his hands and brushing the loose tendrils of her hair back he kissed her gently before turning away with a half smile to pour tea from the kettle hanging over the fire.

Raynda sat down on the loveseat that he had so recently vacated - “flopped” may even have been a better descriptor - and he could feel her eyes on him. “How are you not tired at this hour?” she asked.

“I’ve gotten used to being awake this late. Or early, depending on how you look at it.” He left unsaid that he preferred to delay going to sleep from fear of the nightmares. How could he possibly tell her about those? And how could she ever stay once she did?

He brought the tea over to her, along with some for himself. Raynda always seemed to have nice tea, herbal and almost sweet enough to have without sugar. The mug in his hand was warm and Raynda herself radiated heat. The whole scene must have been incredibly picturesque, he thought to himself, with the two of them sitting close together by the fire and sipping hot drinks. He’d never been very good at drawing people, but it might be a cute thing to sketch for her if he got a chance; she always seemed to enjoy looking at the poorly-drawn doodles he put in the margins of his notes.

“What do you have left to do tonight?”

“Just sign about a billion letters Josephine had drafted for me. I have no idea what they say and I’m fairly certain that I’m signing my soul away.”

He laughed. “If you write out your signature for me to copy I can probably help you sign them.”

Raynda covered her mouth with her hand dramatically. “You would help me forge documents?” She touched her hand to her collarbone and shook her head. “I’m shocked, Commander. Shocked and disappointed.”

“I’ll tender my resignation immediately.”

“Wait until the morning. There’s no point resigning before the crime has been committed.”

  


* * *

  


“You have some ink on your face,” he told her with an amused smile after they had finished signing the letters and were sitting once again on the loveseat. She scrubbed at her cheek with her palm and most of the ink came off, leaving only a small dark tint.

“Better?” she asked.

“Mostly. But you also have something on your face right… here,” he said as he leaned over to kiss her cheek. She laughed delightedly, a tinkling laugh that made him feel warm inside.

“That was very smooth of you,” she said with some appreciation.

“I’m quite proud of it.”

She rested her head against his shoulder, readjusting uncomfortably after a few moments. “You are aware that you don’t need to wear armour up here, right? It’s unlikely that I’ll find you offensive enough to attack.”

He felt a flush come over his face. “To be quite honest, it’s mainly to keep warm before I make the trek outside to return to my room.”

“You don’t have to go.” She gave him a teasing smile. “My reputation, such as it is, must already be in tatters from you being here so late. I can’t imagine anyone truly believes all we’ve been doing is paperwork.”

“It’s not that… I-” He touched his neck and looked away, unwilling to meet her gaze. What would she think of him after she knew? As long as she was unaware he could almost envision himself as a whole man, but was that not a lie? She deserved someone better, not a man imprisoned by his own weakness and frailty of mind.

He felt a hand on his face pulling it toward her. She was looking up at him, her eyes soft. “Please stay, Cullen.”

“I have… bad dreams. They will wake you up.” He waited for her to say something funny and flippant in response, maybe something about him being a child. That was the best case scenario. Perhaps instead she would be upset that he hadn’t told her before. In his darkest moments he had even imagined that she would turn him away, reproach him for his failure to overcome his past when he’d been trying for the past ten years with no success. If she would just let go of him he could slip away and not bother her with his problems again, she had enough to contend with without an attachment to someone irreparably broken.

“From the Circle?”

He nodded wordlessly. Would there be no reprieve from this? Why did she insist on exposing his every flaw if she was only to tell him to go?

He tried to pull away but was prevented from moving when she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Don’t leave.” She bent his head down to her shoulder, running her hand through the hair at the nape of his neck. “You aren’t alone, not anymore.”

He didn’t know how to describe what he felt. Relief? Uncertainty? A need to cry he hadn’t felt in his waking moments since he was a boy?

“You don’t need to hide, not from me. I’ll always be here for you. Cullen, I... I care about you, all of you.”

_I love you._

The thought sprang unbidden into his mind. He’d never told anyone he loved them. Whatever he felt for her was something he had never experienced before. But it was too soon. Probably. He was no judge of appropriate timing in a relationship.

“I care about you too.” It seemed so weak, such a pitiful statement in contrast to what he felt, but it was safer.

“Then don’t make me worry about you being out in the cold. Come to bed.”

He breathed in her scent. He didn’t know what home was supposed to smell like, but it smelled like her. He loved her. There was some freedom and joy in that knowledge.

“Alright.”

* * *

  


When he awoke the next morning from his first sound sleep in months he had his arms around her and she was holding him back. The draft was still blowing in through the window. He felt her hair tickle his nose.


End file.
